The Allied Health Professions are a group of professions that dedicate to provide services that answer to the needs of patients and clients beyond the direct caring of a current or chronic illness. Usually, they are technicians and therapists that take care of subjects that help prevent disease but have no direct effect on a particular illness, such as dietitians, rehabilitation therapists, health educators, among others. Their job, also, supports the roles of more direct patient caregivers, like nurses and physicans, who have direct contact and work with illnesses and the curation of them through care. These therapists have a shorter training period than professionals such as physicians or nurses and there field of action is related only to the area in which they were trained. Some of the choices of career in allied health are:
1. Physical therapists. They deal with the treatment and management of the physical rehabilitation of patients. These professionals deal with all that has to do with treatment of the motor system: muscles, ligaments, etc.
2. Dietitians, or nutritionits. Are the people who specialize in all that has to do with proper nutrition depending on the characteristics of an individual, a group or a community. They study the use of nutrients and work to prevent food-related diseases such as obesity.
3. Radiography. These are technicians that specialize in the use of X-rays and other such technologies for the diagnosis of diseases and the correct treatment of them.
4. Respiratory therapists. They work hand in hand with medical professionals to help with respiratory issues. Usually they help in training patients to handle their respiratory problems and help diagnose respiratory diseases with technology.
5. Radiation Therapy. These are professionals that specialize in the use of nuclear power to be able to diagnose and also treat illnesses such as cancer, among others. They also perform therapies with the use of this nuclear technology to aid in treatment of illnesses.
These 5 are only a few of the many career choices in allied health. There are at least 21 options to choose from.
